As Bill O'Brien sat at the podium in Penn State's media room, he took charge of the postgame interviews in a manner that caught many by surprise.

"You need to ask some defensive questions," he said. "The defense pitched a shutout."

Then, almost as if he asked himself the question, O'Brien continued: "I think the defense played a hell of a game."

The coach had a point. The Nittany Lions did blank Kent State, 34-0, at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

One player that stood out was safety Ryan Keiser, who had five key plays that went a long way in helping lead Penn State to victory.

On the Golden Flashes' second possession, Keiser's tackle on a screen pass in which Kent State gained 18 yards might not seem like much, but it was a huge play at the time.

For one thing, had Keiser not brought down receiver Chris Humphrey in the open field, the play would have likely accounted for more yards, a lot more.

So instead of the Golden Flashes having the ball well into Nittany Lions' territory, Kent had a first down on its own 40-yard-line. Three plays later, the Flashes were forced to punt and Penn State scored on its ensuing possession.

A short while later, Keiser broke up a pass on third-and-long, forcing another punt. Midway through the second quarter, he made a diving sack of Flashes quarterback Colin Reardon.

Not a bad day for some players, certainly not a bad half for the former walk-on from Selinsgrove.

"I have to look at the tape, but just from watching from the sidelines, I thought he did a heck of a job," O'Brien said. "What a fantastic kid. He's a mature guy. He's married with a great perspective on life."

The redshirt junior wasn't done either. One play after Lions quarterback Christen Hackenberg threw an interception in the second half, Keiser laid out for a diving pick of his own -- the first of his career -- giving the ball right back to Penn State.

The early third-quarter play pretty much sealed the Flashes fate, and Penn State's defense allowed only three first downs the rest of the way.

Keiser would later break up another pass, his third of the day, as a part of a four tackle -- including three solo tackles -- performance.

Nicked up late in the game, he received treatment and didn't talk to the media.

But, he was far from Penn State's only standout.

Linebacker Glenn Carson led the way with seven tackles, two for loss. Deion Barnes added six stops, including a sack.

York products, Kyle Baublitz and Ben Kline, got involved as well. A Central York grad, Baublitz had three solo tackles and recorded a sack. Dallastown's Kline had two tackles -- one solo.

In all, the Lions' defense had seven tackles for loss -- three of which were sacks -- and had 10 pass breakups. Penn State allowed only nine first downs, 56 yards rushing and 134 yards passing.

Three-and-out was a common theme for Kent State.

The defensive performance came just one week after allowing a talented Central Florida team to gain 507 total yards (219 on the ground, 288 in the air), during last Saturday's 34-31 loss.